Eggless Chocolate Banana Cake - Virtual Bridal Shower for Nelly

A Banana recipe and my virtual party is complete for the girl who loves chocolate, coffee, Nutella and banana more than her boy! After posting a recipe with almost all the favorite ingredients of Nelly, I noticed one of the most favorite s of all Banana was left out. We call ourselves banana sisters and our banana love often comes out on Twitter. Nelly even has a post with all banana recipes here.
The first two ingredients are taken care of in on my other blog with Coffee & Nutella Molten Lava cupcakes. 

Check this post here for more about this fun Virtual Bridal shower party from food bloggers.

Kulcha - A Delightful Yeasted Indian Flat Bread

Kulcha is a delightful Indian flat bread, normally fermented with yeast and baked in oven. Baked version is better off than the fried one as it is devoid of oil. Kulchas are very common street food of North India, and is generally served with spicy channa curry in bowls made of dried leaves.
I made the fried version ad served it with Cottage cheese curry - Paneer Jalfrezi.
The Kulchas taste quite different from the Pooris because of the yogurt and yeast in it.

Anarsay - An Easy Indian Traditional Sweet with Poppy seeds

The peculiar look of this sweet studded with white pearls of poppy seeds makes Anarsay very special festive recipe. And it has been long time since I made this crunchy and scrumptious sweet at home. I wanted to make something different this festival which is easy and fuss free. A long telephonic discussion with mom resulted in zeroing upon Anarsay.
Except for the soaking hour the sweet is really very quick to make and tastes different from other traditional sweets.

Bridal Shower for Nithya: Chocolate Cup Cakes

There are very few moments as cherished, as beautiful as the day you embark the new journey of life. Holding someone's hand, with dreams in heart and sparkle in the eyes. The day she started dreaming for, even before she knew its’ meaning. The day she has visualized so many times, that by now every detail is clearly itched in her mind. Yes the day a girl becomes a bride, is like no other.

Gulab Jamuns with Cottage Cheese - A Delightful Indian Dessert

Yummy delight!

The festival of lights Diwali, brings back the memories of colorful sweets and bursting noisiest of crackers during our childhood days. Times have changed and now we hardly make any sweets at home.
But there are a few sweets which are a staple during the festive seasons at my home, and Gulab Jamun is one of them. These spongy balls made with reduced milk and dipped in sugar syrup is a delight to eat. You can avoid cottage cheese and make the same recipe with only thickened milk as the main ingredient.

Peas & Cottage Cheese in Spicy Gravy

A simple Peas and cottage cheese or Mutter paneer as is called in Hindi with wholewheat Indian flat breads is one such delightful meals I crave for during the weekends. There are many ways to make this recipe, you could make it more exotic with cashew nut paste or deep fry the cottage cheese cubes for the crunchy taste. But my favorite is this simple yet scrumptious recipe which is easy to cook and is a delight to savor.

Adhirasam - A Traditional Indian Sweet

Come Diwali and you could smell jaggery, cardamom and coconut everywhere! There are many special sweets from South India which are uncommon in other regions, and Adhirasam is one of them.
This traditional sweet requires a little proficiency in making the exact dough which will hold its shape when fried in oil.

Cashew Fudge or Kaju Katli - A Melt-in-Mouth Indian Sweet

Indian festivals and sweets are synonyms to each other. Festivals in India are not complete without a plateful of colourful sweets. These Cashew Fudge or Kaju Katli as called in Hindi is one of my favorite sweets and is a permanent feature in my house during all festivals. 

Rice and Soya Granules in a Crispy Snacks

Weekend is the most awaited time for my family who look forward to something crisp to munch upon during the evenings. And I like to experiment with various food ingredients to come up with something new and exciting from the normal snack recipes I usually make. This one is yet another scrumptious treat from my kitchen for you.

Crunchy Lentils - A Spicy Tea Time Snack

Evening is the time everyone look out for something to munch upon with a hot cup of tea. I often bake muffins, wholewheat cookies and scones in advance and store them for a couple of days. At times we all feel like having something spicy and crispy to go along with the tea. The Crunchy Lentil snack below fits the bill perfectly.

Crispy Green Gram Pooris an Indian Flat Bread Delight

For the last one month my taste buds are adjusting with the drastic changes in the food habits. From the light and simple foods I am used to, to the lavish spreads mom is cooking daily. The whole month passed trying out some of her authentic curries, pickles, snacks and recipes I almost forgot.
Mom made these Wholewheat Green Gram Pooris or Indian flat bread with wholewheat and green gram which we took with us in our trip to the lakeside the other day. These are so crisp and scrumptious that you don't need any other accompaniments than a hot cup of tea with it.
I like her idea of adding whole green gram in the dough. The grams gave a crunchy look and feel to the flat breads.

A Crisp and Scrumptious Sago Snack

Snack time is the most awaited time on a weekend. More so when there is a cricket match to follow and the kid and hubby look forward to eating something crisp and scrumptious. These Sago snack was one such treat for them last week.

Spicy Brown Rice Pooris

These Brown rice spicy pooris make a good lunch box meal when packed with a chutney or spread. Healthy and easy to make they can be taken for picnic or as a great travel food too. I often make these crisp pooris at dinner time and serve them with spicy curd potato or channa masala.

Jim Corbett National Park - A Perfect Date with Nature!

Coming down the hill from Didihat to Ramnagar was easy this time, thanks to the timely advice from my friend and proper precautions against mountain sickness. The nearest staying option we could find was KMVN guest house in Ramnagar, which was well maintained and had good room service with all the basic amenities.

We were among the few privileged lucky travelers to Jim Corbett National Park or CNP who got the most coveted Jungle rest house Dhikala. After confirming the booking in Ramnagar and a night stay at KMVN guest house we hired an open Gypsy with a driver for 2 nights and 3 days. You need to show your bargaining prowess here to fix a good rate. And Rs. 2000/ for a day was not bad according to other co travelers.

Seven Cup Cakes - An Indian Delicacy

As the name suggests this Indian sweet 7 Cup Cakes is done with exactly 7 cups of ingredients. This is a long due post and the very first post in 2011. My co-sister S made the sweet during Diwali festival. Though she was not quite happy with the results as she thought the mix got overcooked and did not taste exactly like what she wanted. But I thoroughly enjoyed the slight caramelized version of this delicacy and would love to do it this way if I am making it again :)